Southern Heels
by TheCitadelSpire
Summary: It started with a text – the first time Jade had heard from Tori in over a year. She wasn't even sure why she bothered to answer or accept Tori's invitation to the party. But she figured that this was her last chance to say what she needed to say.


**A/N: **Thank you so much for reading this one-shot! Hope you enjoy!

**SOUTHERN HEELS**

Jade stood with her back against the wall, rubbing at her upper-arm.

She was attired quite consistently with the event – a little black number north of the knee combined with a pair of black stilettos. Her hair was pulled back into a rare ponytail – the blue streak visible in the light.

All around her were dozens of other girls adorned in dresses-and-heels. They chatted both amongst themselves and guys that oozed bravado, along with a bit too much cologne.

She wasn't even sure why she was there or why she bothered to answer Tori's invitation.

It was the first time that Jade had heard anything from Tori in almost a year – not long after the gang's final gathering in August, just before the start of college. Tori was the only one to leave the West Coast. It was anybody's guess why Tori Vega, who had never been anywhere farther east than Colorado, chose the University of Alabama.

Before Tori reached out to her, the only thing that Jade knew of her whereabouts was that she had rushed with and eventually joined Bama's largest sorority, a traditional southern panhellenic organization called Phi Sigma Sigma.

Jade noticed the trend in the opening weeks of September. Her conversations with Tori were becoming shorter and shorter. Then, as the early Autumn rolled into October, Tori stopped answering entirely – not just Jade, but the group in general. October slowly rolled into November.

Still nothing.

Encouragements from the gang to spend time with them during the winter break in December were ignored. The same went for Jade's uncommonly benevolent text message wishing Tori "all the best and a Happy New Year".

At the same time, Tori's social media was more active than it had ever previously been, plastered with pictures of her in pastel-pink dresses with pearl earrings and pearl necklaces, standing in formation alongside girls that made Jade slightly sick to her stomach . Any attempts to contact her there were never read, never even acknowledged.

Through the rest of January, February, March – the efforts to get in touch with Tori decreased sharply. Birthdays were completely forgotten. Finally, in April, Cat sent one last message to her, begging her to respond.

Nothing.

It was quite unexpected when Jade woke up to that text on a Wednesday morning in September:

_ Hey! My sorority is having a party this weekend to celebrate our 150th Anniversary _

_We're permitted to have guests! Love it if you could make it! _

_It's about a seven hour flight.__Your dad works for American Airlines, right? _

_Oh and let the rest of the group know that they're invited too ofc!_

_ Much love, honey! _

"Much love, honey!" Jade rolled that phrase around and around in her head. That wasn't Tori. Not in the least. She sat on the text for a few hours before sending an answer that she felt adequately lashed together both a direct confirmation and how angry she was:

_Okay. _

She made the flight across the country by herself, unloaded her bags by herself, checked into the hotel by herself. Andre and Beck immediately refused the invitation; Robbie didn't answer at all. Even Cat declined. Her return was unusually terse and blunt:

_No thanks. I'm done with her. _

Seconds later, Cat sent a follow-up:

_Please tell her that, too._

Other than a quick back-and-forth over what she should wear to the party, Jade had no communications with Tori since arriving in Alabama. And now, here she was – in the main hall of the Phi-Sig House during a party she felt that she had no business attending to see someone who, apparently, wanted nothing to do with her or anybody else back home.

She pulled out her phone and sent Tori a message:

_I'm here. Where are you?_

"Hey there!" a voice tinged with a southern flair addressed her, followed by the clicking of heels across the hardwood floor.

Jade turned her head to see a pretty young woman approaching with her arm outstretched, "you must be Tori's friend, Jade West."

She bit her lip and reluctantly shook the girl's hand, "yeah...well that used to be true."

"Used to?"

"It's complicated."

The girl smiled, "well in any case, my name is Kaitlyn and I'm the Chapter President of Phi-Sig here at Bama. I'm delighted you were able to attend our one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary celebration!"

She swept her hand across the room, "we're also jointly commemorating the one-hundred-twentieth anniversary of the Alpha Tau fraternity."

Jade nodded, forcing as much of a smile as she could. These "prissy-airheads" and "fratboy pricks" (as she called them) gave her the creeps.

"So Jade, where do you go to school? I can tell by your accent: you're not from around here."

"Thank God for that...," Jade muttered to herself. She wanted to add that she could already hear the crickets and banjos, but felt that was a bit too biting – even for her.

"I go to UCLA – studying performance arts."

"Oh, Cali," Kaitlyn replied, "so like...plays? Musicals?"

Jade mentally rolled her eyes, "yes, yes...like plays and musicals. Tori actually applied to the same progr-"

"-oop, sorry for interrupting, darling, but I just had no idea that our sweet Tori had any interest in performing arts."

There was an awkward pause.

"Does she sing? Act? Dance?"

"Uh," Jade balked, "yeah, all of the above. She never mentioned that she went a high school that specialized in performing arts?"

"Nope, never mentioned it once, I'm afraid. She doesn't talk about her home life, in general."

Jade said nothing in response. She felt a great warmth wash across the back of her neck.

Kaitlyn sighed, "I must say, Jade: that Tori is something else,"

Jade cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, "something else?"

"Well, just this year, we elected her Vice President of the sorority by a unanimous vote. She's been integral in our outreach projects and is just an absolute delight. Y'all are so lucky to have grown up with her."

Jade bit down hard on her bottom lip. There was so much that she wanted to say, but this southern belle wasn't the intended target. No. That all could wait.

"Speaking of which," Jade diverted, "if I may, I was just about to go see if I could find her."

Kaitlyn grinned again, flashing her perfectly maintained teeth through crimson-red lipstick, "I think she's at the back of the house. Wonderful meeting you!"

Once more, Jade feigned the most genuine smile she could muster. She looked at her phone. No response. Of course.

The house was crowded – Jade needed to excuse herself on more than one occasion as she squeezed behind and around people. Every time she entered a room, she would scan the faces, hoping to recognize Tori. But even then, finding a specific naturally-tan brunette in a sea of Alabama sorority girls bordered on the impossible.

"C'mon Tor," she thought to herself, "I came to your stupid party..."

She wandered through the double doors that separated the kitchen from the courtyard and took a seat on a bench. Her feet were throbbing. She took off her heel and massaged her toes. She absolutely hated wearing these things.

Then she heard it: a voice that she recognized – the _only _voice that she recognized in this place.

She looked up. There, standing about fifty feet in front of her with her back turned, chatting away with a group around eight or nine strong, was a familiar silhouette.

Jade slipped her heel back on her foot and stood up.

"Hey! Vega!" she barked.

No response.

She groaned and walked closer, "Vega!"

Tori turned around. She was wearing one of those rippled pink dresses and a string of pearls around her neck. Her hair was well-prepared, straight fading into a slight waviness at the ends. When she saw Jade, her face instantly lit up.

"Jade!" she exclaimed, running over and embracing her, "You look incredible!"

Jade didn't return the enthusiasm, "yeah, Tori, that's...that's great."

"Oh," Tori pulled back, somewhat confused, "you're the only one here."

Another wave of warmth spread across Jade's neck. She couldn't believe Tori had the audacity to act surprised.

"Tori, we need to talk."

"What?"

"We need to talk. Is there somewhere away from all this where we can talk?"

"Why not here? I haven't seen you in a whole-

Jade leaned in and lowered her voice, "-because I don't want to talk in front of these stup-"

She re-routed her words, "these...people..."

Tori stared at her with a blank and almost hurt expression.

Jade sighed, "Just...can we find somewhere private where we can talk?"

Tori knitted her eyebrows, "Yeah. Yeah, of course. C'mon."

She took Jade's arm and led her back through the double doors into the crowd. Tori immediately attracted attention as the pair made their way through the masses. It seemed that every six seconds, someone called her name.

For just a moment, Jade wondered if she was wrong in her mission. Perhaps she was being petty. Tori had apparently built herself quite the mini-social empire here in the deep south and seemed content with where she was.

But those thoughts quickly faded. Jade didn't buy into all that "if she's happy, we're happy" nonsense. Tori owed her an explanation. She owed everybody an explanation.

She continued leading Jade through the house and up the staircase. As they ascended, a tall and well-built guy wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a kiss.

Tori beamed, "I'll catch up with you later, honey." Jade wanted to vomit.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Jade was taken down a narrow hallway and into a small bedroom. Two single beds sat side by side, their spreads the same shade of pink as Tori's dress. Wooden Greek letters for "PHI", "SIGMA", and "SIGMA" were mounted to the white walls. Beneath them was a framed picture of the entire sorority out in front of the house, all wearing the same neon-green t-shirts and skinny jeans.

Tori gently closed the door behind her, muffling the music and voices from downstairs.

She smiled at Jade, "so, what's up? How's everyone been?"

Jade could feel her temperature rising.

"Are you kidding me, Tori? Are you actually being serious right now?"

Tori's smile faded.

"Is that really all you have to say to me?" Jade continued.

"I mean, it seems like a reasonable-"

Jade interjected, "- you completely blocked all of us out for the last year!"

Tori took a seat on the bed behind her.

"I...I didn't block anybody out. I've just been busy..."

"Don't you dare...," Jade snarled, pointing her finger directly at Tori's face, "don't you DARE."

"What's gotten into you, Jade?"

"What's gotten into me? Really?" Jade's fury surged, "what's gotten into _you_, Tori Vega?"

She flipped her ponytail to her other shoulder, "I talked to your chapter President. You didn't even mention Hollywood Arts? Mention us? Mention the fact that you were a talented singer? And, believe me, it absolutely kills me to say that."

Jade paused.

"Why would you hide that, Tor?"

Tori didn't answer. Her eyes turned away. Jade expected more excuses. She expected Tori to try to whine and complain her way of this one. That was the Tori that she knew, the Tori she had come to tolerate, the Tori she could handle.

"Hang on a sec," Tori stood up suddenly, "Am I not allowed to reinvent myself? Is that what you're telling me?"

Jade was taken aback by her defensive tone.

"No. That's not what I'm saying at all. But I don't see one single indication of your gift for music anywhere in this room. Do you realize how much of a slap in the face that is to everybody back home? To me? To Andre, Robbie, Beck and Cat?"

"The last time I checked, Jade," Tori fired back, "my life wasn't meant to satisfy what you guys want from me."

Jade's eyes widened, "listen to yourself, Tor!"

"No, _you _listen!" Tori shouted, stepping even closer to Jade's face, "I didn't invite you to this amazing party to humiliate me!"

"You're doing a great job of that all on your own!" Jade yelled, stretching out her arms with her palms upturned, "the dresses, the pearls, associating with douchebag fratboys who think that 'me too' is a compliment!"

"Well when was the last time any of _y'all_ reached out to _me_?"

The hair on the back of Jade's neck stood up at the word "y'all". That was the clincher. It was time to go all-in.

"Fine, Tor," Jade said, "you wanted to know how everybody's been? Where do I even start?"

The lightbulb went on. "I know! Let's take a look at what they said when I told them about your invitation to this party!"

"First up," she began, "Andre laughed – told me that he would rather spend time with people who actually mattered."

Tori folded her arms.

"Or, hey!" Jade continued, "How about Beck's answer? Told me to tell you to go fuck yourself."

Tori's mouth opened; her shoulders dropped. Jade went on, "Robbie didn't respond at all. And Cat..."

She swallowed hard. One of the few things that could pierce her iron-clad exterior was Cat being genuinely upset about something.

"...and Cat wanted me to say that she was completely done with you."

She looked at Tori straight-on, "I just want you to consider that, Tor. Catarina Valentine has never, as long as I've known her, EVER been done with _anybody_ in her entire life."

Tori remained silent.

"So! Let's review!" Jade counted on her fingers, "you've completely abandoned the one thing you're truly special at, you've abandoned your friends and the people back home who care about you, and you've decided to put on a phony and fake persona to satisfy a bunch of...of...I...don't even know what to call them."

She closed, "if your goal was to reinvent yourself or whatever crap you're calling it, then congratulations, Victoria S. Vega! You've succeeded. And we ALL hate you for it."

That full first-name – the first time it had fallen on Tori's ears in four-and-a-half years. The words came streaming out of Jade's mouth without a second thought. They were not necessarily easy for her to say, but they were things that Tori needed to hear.

Tori walked over to the window and stared out into the darkness, resting her arm on the frame above her head. She sighed.

"Why did you come here, Jade?"

"What?"

"You talked about everybody else. Now, I wanna know why you were the only one that actually came all this way out to Alabama."

Tori turned around, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, "why are _you_ here?"

The answer was ready in Jade's mind before Tori even finished, "because I wanted to know if there was still anything left, Tor."

Tori wiped her cheek, "what do you mean?"

Jade took a step towards her, "I had to see if you'd completely thrown everything away or if there was still a little glimmer of the old Tori Vega remaining."

Tori sat back down on the bedspread, "so this wasn't about winning me back?"

"No," Jade rebutted, "no, you don't get to put yourself on that pedestal."

She continued, "What I'm saying is that people really are done with you. When you ignored Cat's birthday, when you unfollowed everybody on...pretty much everything."

Once more, she motioned around the room, "when you don't even acknowledge where you came from or who you were not all that long ago."

Jade could feel herself tearing up, "I guess to make things simple...I just needed to see you one last time."

Tori looked up at her, "...so what happens now?"

Jade exhaled, "What happens now is that I leave. I fly back to Cali early tomorrow morning. And this will be the last time that you and I will ever see each other."

"Jade, pleas-"

Jade put her hand up, "-I'm sorry, Tor. But you've made it clearly obvious that you don't need or want us in your life anymore. And that's okay – it's your choice. I did what I came here to do."

Tori remained seated on the bed, her eyes cast downwards.

Just then, the bedroom door opened. In walked yet another beautiful young woman with a thick southern drawl.

"Oh, I'm sorry, y'all," she apologized, "Tori dear, I didn't know you were-"

"-it's fine," Jade said, "I was just leaving anyway."

She made a point of not looking at Tori as she stepped out into the hallway. She felt that she didn't owe her anything to that effect.

Jade descended the staircase and exited through the front door. She called for an Uber back to the hotel and took a seat on a bench along the brick front-walkway leading up to the house.

"Ow," she groaned to herself, taking off her left heel and rubbing her foot.

"Miss Jade! Heading out already?"

She looked up to see Kaitlyn walking towards her.

Though she was already sick to death of doing so, Jade turned and forced a smile, "yeah...yeah, I gotta fly back to L.A. early tomorrow morning."

Kaitlyn sat down next to her and crossed her legs, "totally understand. Did you at least enjoy yourself?"

Jade thought about giving an answer in her usual brand of snark, but re-directed herself at the last moment, "I did. You...you guys have a beautiful house here."

"Aw, I do appreciate that, Miss West. Did everything go okay with Tori?"

Jade pushed aside another opportunity for attitude.

"I'd...yeah, I'd say so," she answered, "I-"

She could feel herself getting choked up again.

"-I said everything I've been wanting to say for a while now."

Kaitlyn beamed, "well I'm delighted to hear that. Between you and me, I love this sorority, I love these ladies, but sometimes..."

She trailed off, herself.

"...sometimes they say that girls change when they join these organizations."

Jade didn't answer. Her phone buzzed.

"Well I better get going, Kaitlyn," she rose to her feet, slipping her heel back on, "but thank you so much for having me."

"Ah, our pleasure," Kaitlyn obliged, standing up and extended her arms, "just so you know, we hug down here."

She embraced Jade, "safe travels, love. Hope to see you again soon."

Jade returned the hug, "might be a while, but thank you."

Just before she started down the brick path towards the waiting car, she turned around.

"Oh and, by the way," she said to Kaitlyn, "ask Tori to sing for you guys some time. She has an amazing voice."

Kaitlyn smiled.

"I certainly will, Miss West."


End file.
